A simple method to synthesize worm-like AlN nanowires and its field emission studies

The worm-like AlN nanowires are fabricated by the plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition(PECVD)on Si substrates through using Al powder and N2 as precursors,CaF2 as fluxing medium,Au as catalyst,respectively.The as-grown worm-like AlN nanowires each have a polycrystalline and hexagonal wurtzite structure.Their diameters are about 300 nm,and the lengths are over 10μm.The growth mechanism of worm-like AlN nanowires is discussed.Hydrogen plasma plays a very important role in forming the polycrystalline structure and rough surfaces of worm-like AlN nanowires.The worm-like AlN nanowires exhibit an excellent field-emission(FE)property with a low turn-on field of 4.5 V/μm at a current density of 0.01 mA/cm^(2) and low threshold field of 9.9 V/μm at 1 mA/cm^(2).The emission current densities of worm-like AlN nanowires each have a good stability.The enhanced FE properties of worm-like AlN nanowires may be due to their polycrystalline and rough structure with nanosize and high aspect ratio.The excellent FE properties of worm-like AlN nanowires can be explained by a grain boundary conduction mechanism.The results demonstrate that the worm-like AlN nanowires prepared by the proposed simple and the PECVD method possesses the potential applications in photoelectric and field-emission devices.

High capacity sodium-rich layered oxide cathode for sodium-ion batteries

Sodium-ion batteries have attracted significant recent attention currently considering the limited available lithium resource. However, the energy density of sodium-ion batteries is still insufficient compared to lithium-ion batteries, mainly because of the unavailability of high-energy cathode materials. In this work, a novel sodium-rich layered oxide material（Na_2 MnO_3） is reported with a dynamical stability similar to that of the Li_2 MnO_3 structure and a high capacity of269.69 mA·h·g1, based on first-principles calculations. Sodium ion de-intercalation and anionic reaction processes are systematically investigated, in association with sodium ions migration phenomenon and structure stability during cycling of Nax MnO3（1 ≤ x ≤ 2）. In addition, the charge compensation during the initial charging process is mainly contributed by oxygen, where the small differences of the energy barriers of the paths 2 c→4 h, 4 h→2 c, 4 h→4 h, 2 c→2 b, and 4 h→2 b indicate the reversible sodium ion occupancy in transitional metal and sodium layers. Moreover, the slow decrease of the elastic constants is a clear indication of the high cycle stability. These results provide a framework to exploit the potential of sodium-rich layered oxide, which may facilitate the development of high-performance electrode materials for sodium-ion batteries.